List of songs which have spent the most weeks on the UK Singles Chart
The following is a list of songs that have charted for 50 weeks or more in total on the UK Singles Chart according to the Official Charts Company (OCC).[1] The chart here is as recorded by the OCC, i.e. usually a top 50 from 1960 to 1978, top 75 from then until 1982 and top 100 from 1983 onwards. To be eligible the song has to be the original version whether it be by re-entry or re-issue. Remixes do not count except under certain circumstances (see "Blue Monday" below).
The song with the most weeks in the top 100 is "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, with a total of 166 weeks between 2006 and 2014.[2] When only a top 50 was compiled, Frank Sinatra's "My Way" set records which still stand: 122 weeks in the top 50 between April 1969 and January 1972, 75 weeks in the top 40,[3] and 124 weeks in the top 75, including a re-release in 1994, following a Legend Award for Sinatra at that year's Grammy Awards.[4]
The longest unbroken run in the top 100 is 95 weeks for "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran. Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me" held the record run in the top 50 for over 40 years[5] until beaten by "All of Me" by John Legend with 58 consecutive weeks in the top 50 (since passed by "Thinking Out Loud" with 63 weeks). The song with the most weeks at number 1 and in the top 10 is "I Believe" by Frankie Laine which stayed in the top 10 for 35 weeks, 18 of them at number one and a further seven at number two. Also noteworthy is "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, the only song released in the 1950s to appear in the lists, which achieved 36 of its weeks when only a top 20 or top 30 were published.
In the pre-digital era, Christmas-themed songs were often re-released in different years and several have continued to chart each year from the mid-noughties onwards. "Merry Xmas Everybody" by Slade has had 20 chart runs in 22 different years (1973–74, 1980–87, 1989–1990 and 2006–2015), while "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl has reached the top 10 four times and spent a record 41 weeks in its twelve runs in the top 20. In a similar but more modest way, since 2007, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson[6] and "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr.[7] have charted at Halloween in nine and eight years, respectively.
The numbers shown are up to the chart for week ending 28 April 2016.
Contents
Songs with 50 or more weeks in the Top 40
The Top 40 chart has been broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 1 (currently as The Official Chart) since the 1980s and is often referred to as 'the charts'. Appearing in the Top 40 can greatly increase a song's exposure on television and radio. In June 2015, "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran became the first song to stay in the Top 40 for 52 consecutive weeks—equivalent to one year,[8] having spent a record-breaking 18 weeks in the chart before reaching number one.[9]
Song | Artist | Year first entered chart |
Chart peak |
Total weeks in top 40 |
Consecutive weeks |
Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"My Way" | Frank Sinatra | 1969 | 5 | 75 | 16 | [10] |
"Thinking Out Loud" | Ed Sheeran | 2014 | 1 | 56* | 54 | [11] |
"Rock Around the Clock" | Bill Haley and His Comets | 1955 | 1 | 54 | 17 | [12] |
"All of Me" | John Legend | 2014 | 2 | 54 | 44 | [13] |
"Fairytale of New York" | The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl | 1987 | 2 | 54 | 9 | [14] |
"Stranger on the Shore" | Acker Bilk | 1961 | 2 | 52 | 45 | [15] |
"Happy" | Pharrell Williams | 2013 | 1 | 50 | 49 | [16] |
Some or all weeks in charts when less than a top 40 compiled.
* Includes 5-day 'week' ending Thursday 9 July 2015 when the chart week changed from Sunday-Saturday to Friday-Thursday.
Songs with 50 or more weeks in the Top 75
The Top 75 is published each week by Music Week magazine. The longest continuous run in the Top 75 is 73 weeks for both "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne (January 2014 to June 2015) and "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran (June 2014 to November 2015). In 2014, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams and "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel became the first (and so far only) singles ever to stay in the Top 75 for a whole calendar year.
Some or all weeks in charts when only top 50 compiled.
Some weeks in charts when only top 30 or less compiled.
* Includes five-day 'week' ending Thursday 9 July 2015 when the chart week changed from Sunday-Saturday to Friday-Thursday.
Songs with 70 or more weeks in the Top 100
The Top 100 is published each week by the Official Charts Company. The longest continuous run in the top 100 is 95 weeks for "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran. Oasis have the most songs with over 50 weeks in the top 100 with seven, followed by Sheeran with five, then Adele, Lady Gaga and Rihanna with four each.
Songs with 50 to 69 weeks in the Top 100
Some or all weeks in charts when only top 50 compiled.
Some weeks in charts when only top 30 or less compiled.
* Includes five-day 'week' ending Thursday 9 July 2015 when the chart week changed from Sunday-Saturday to Friday-Thursday.
Notable singles
"Blue Monday"
New Order's 'Blue Monday' includes the remixed version of the original, which was finally made available on 45 for the first time in 1988 with almost the same catalogue number; sales for this shorter version and the original were combined when calculating its chart position. The second remix, from 1995, charted for four weeks but is excluded from this list.[100]
"Merry Xmas Everybody"
In addition to Slade's total of 81 weeks in the top 100 for 'Merry Xmas Everybody', they also had two remixes of the song not counted because they were re-recorded with other artists. The first, from 1980, was credited to Slade and the Reading Choir; the second, from 1998, was credited to Slade vs Flush.[101]
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"
The original version credited to Wizzard "featuring vocal backing by The Suedettes plus The Stockland Green Bilateral School First Year Choir with additional noises by Miss Snob and Class 3C" spent nine weeks in the charts in 1973-74, three more weeks during the 1980s and 40 weeks from 2007 to 2015, making a total of 52 weeks in the top 100. A re-recorded version was issued in 1981 and 1984, achieving eight weeks in the chart (not counted towards its total).
"White Lines"
Grandmaster Melle Mel's "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" was remixed in 1994 and charted for an additional three weeks, making 46 in total in the top 75 (61 in the top 100 including one in 2004).[102] It was also re-recorded in 1995 by Duran Duran featuring Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and charted for another five weeks (not counted towards its total).[103]
"Three Lions"
Three Lions, recorded by Baddiel and Skinner and The Lightning Seeds isn't eligible for the above list for either version but has clocked up an impressive 56 weeks[104] on the UK Singles Chart Top 75 under the guise of "Three Lions" and "3 Lions '98". It was originally released in 1996 as "Three Lions"; subsequently released in 1998 and re-issued in 2002 as "3 Lions '98"; then re-issued in 2006 as "Three Lions/Three Lions '98" as a dualdisc. In 2010, "Three Lions" charted once again due to downloads. It was also released in 2010 by The Squad, aptly called "Three Lions 2010"; this version tallied up a further six weeks in addition to the 56 weeks.[105]
See also
References
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